


Earthquake- A Gay Toontown Fic

by alleyrat



Category: Disney's Toontown Online (Video Game), Toontown Online
Genre: Fluff, Forbidden Love, Gay, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2019-11-23 10:16:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18150551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alleyrat/pseuds/alleyrat
Summary: All their lives, they've been taught to hate one another. But when a lonely Mover-And-Shaker and an isolated Crocodile seek comfort in each other, where has that hatred gone to?





	1. Roggie

CHAPTER 1:

_You throw. I’ll drop right after. He’ll be stunned enough from the throw that he can’t easily miss it._

A yellow dog by the name of McKinley Star and a blue crocodile by the name of Roggie worked together on the last floor of the Sellbot building they were in, working to destroy the cogs that faced them. There was only a telemarketer left, and they were both determined.

Their attack sequence went perfectly; the telemarketer began to internally implode, before falling apart in an explosion of oil and gears. Soon, Roggie and McKinley found themselves back out onto the street, and the drab Cog building soon fell apart and revealed the bright store that had once occupied Tenor Terrace of Minnie’s Melodyland.

“Good job, mate! Thanks for the help!” McKinley gleefully shouted at his companion. Roggie, who’d opened his shticker book in preparation to take him back to the playground, looked up suddenly. He didn’t know what to say.

“Oh..! Um…” Roggie mumbled a bit, unsure. Then he straightened up a bit and said, “Yeah. Uh… you too. I mean you did a good job too. And thanks, thanks for helping out!” God, he hoped that didn’t come out weird.

McKinley only smiled as he pulled out a black hole and warped out of sight, leaving Roggie frozen.

Roggie the crocodile felt himself to be somewhat of a loner.

Sure, he had some friends and all, but he could never exactly bring himself to socialize with other toons. In fact, that was his biggest pitfall as a toon; toons relied on each other. They could never achieve what they’ve achieved without teamwork. And Roggie understood that, of course, and worked tirelessly and determined to keep his fellow toons safe.

But something about him just wasn’t quite right. He never felt as though he belonged.

It was partially because of the teasing. Everyone he came across pointed it out; Roggie was abnormally tall. And lanky, too. In fact, other toons had stopped calling him by his name and just started calling him “The Tall Guy” or “Tall Boy,” or any variation of that. Of course, it was all in good fun. And Roggie knew that. But he couldn’t help but feel hurt, sometimes, when people pointed out his stature.

As he reopened his shticker book, he sighed. He needed more gags, and the sun was setting. He’d have to go home soon.

And so, Roggie threw down a black hole and warped to his estate, where his doodle Cagney was waiting for him. Roggie smiled at the sight of his little friend. Cagney seemed to be the only thing in the whole of Toontown that loved Roggie unconditionally, and here he was now, begging for a scratch. Roggie sat amongst his trees, watching the sunset, while he stroked Cagney under his chin.

Reaching into his shirt pocket, Roggie pulled out a little gear. He had been tasked to retrieve a gear from a cog, and he realized he’d have to give it to him tomorrow. Roggie studied the little thing, turning it this way and that, watching the colors of the sunset gleaming on the shiny metal.

This was another reason Roggie was considered to be an outcast: his interest in Cogs. All his life, he and the others were taught that Cogs were not friendly; they were cruel, mean, and boring, and that was how they had always been, and that was how they would be forever. And since joining the constant war against them, he learned truly why he’d been taught like that. Cogs were merciless. And it was up to everyone to stop them.

Though sometimes, Roggie liked to imagine things about Cogs. Did they have feelings? Did they go home every night to an estate like his, and did they take pleasure in keeping pets, like doodles? Did they feel love?

That was yet another issue with Roggie. Most days, he’d spot at least one couple of toons cuddling and showing tons of PDA. Other toons loved that. It made them happy, seeing the love people shared for one another. And his friends were always talking about the toon girls, talking about how cute and lovely they all were.

But Roggie didn’t see that. He had female toon friends, but he just didn’t see them the way others did. Frankly, Roggie had no idea what was wrong with him. And he hated it.

Now, Roggie slipped the gear back into his pocket, and retired to bed. It would be a long day tomorrow.


	2. What do I do now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roggie finds himself in a Cog Building with no gags. What does he do now?

The next morning, Roggie promptly rose from bed, fed Cagney, and set off to the playground. He needed to turn in that cog gear.

Arriving at the HQ, he quickly approached one of the officers.

“Heya, Roggie! You got the cog gear?” She said cheerfully, taking it in her hand.

“Yeah,” Roggie said. “Wasn’t so bad. It’s from a telemarketer.”

“That’s great! And just what we needed, too. Thanks for your hard work, tall guy. You really tower over them cogs. Now you’ve got 2 more Laff points! Look at you!” Roggie smiled, though inside he was screaming.

“Thank you so much, miss,” He said, feigning a happy mood. “What’s my next task?”

“Oh, aye,” She muttered, her cheery demeanor turning business-like. “We’ve got a couple of cog buildings this side of town. Mind clearing them out for me?” She clicked a few words onto her computer, before printing out a slip of paper and handing it to the crocodile.

“Gladly,” Roggie mumbled, taking the slip and stuffing it into his pocket. “Thanks again.”

Boy, that sucked. He said to himself, staring down at the ground. You really tower over them cogs. Literally, sure, but figuratively?

Due to his height, some toons saw Roggie as a sort of intimidating toon, who was never scared of anything. Quite the opposite, actually. Roggie always felt insecure, scared even, about things no one ever imagined him to be scared of. He got chills down his spine whenever he got into a fight, even if it was a fight with a mere flunky.

Roggie was so lost in thought that he hadn’t even noticed that he’d left the playground and was now walking up the streets of Baritone Boulevard. This was a good place to defeat some buildings. He’d been staring down at the ground so long, however, that he hadn’t even noticed what lay ahead on his path.

“Oof!” He yelped, bumping into something hard. “Oh-! I-I-I’m so sorry, I wasn’t-!”

“Watch where you’re going, croc,” The thing Roggie had bumped into was none other than a cog. A Name Dropper. She snarled at him sourly, before ejecting her propellers. Roggie stood there, stunned. But the Name Dropper hadn’t taken off just yet, because Roggie was standing in her way. “MOVE IT!” She bellowed, taking her hands and shoving the toon aside.

Roggie yelped as his head collided with something hard, and soon he felt himself black out. When he came to a few seconds later, he found his vision going double. He was sprawled out in a little room, but the street lay out before him. That’s when he realized. He had been shoved into a cog building.

“No! NO!” Roggie shouted, struggling to stand up. But it was too late. The elevator doors closed, and began to take him up, up, up. And Roggie had no gags to protect him.

What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?!?!?! Roggie tried to pry the elevator doors open, but they didn’t budge. He tried to break them down instead, but they held strong. He knew it would only be a matter of time before they would open up and he had to battle.

But suddenly, as though a secret door opened, a panel on the ceiling of the elevator caught Roggie’s eye. It was loose; It revealed a crack of what might lie above the elevator.

So as quick as could be, Roggie tore the panel off and slipped through the crack, just as the elevator arrived at the first floor.

\------------------

Ding!

All heads turned two the elevator. A glad hander and another telemarketer were chatting amongst each other, when the elevator marked its presence.

Both straightened up and adjusted their ties. An elevator could either bring along another cog or a toon. They’ve have to be prepared for either one.

Though when it opened, there appeared to be nothing inside at all.

“There’s nothing in there.” The glad hander pondered aloud. The telemarketer was equally confused.

“Perhaps someone sent one here by accident?” The telemarketer turned to his fellow cog. But the glad hander was gone, and was now standing at the door of the elevator. “Hey! Where are you going?”

The glad hander said nothing as he looked into the elevator. Though it was truly empty. There was nothing inside. Nothing… except a single jelly bean. He picked it up, and shriveled with disgust.

“Toons,” He muttered. “Always up to their little tricks.” The two walked away from the elevator, continuing their chat.

Unbeknownst to them, Roggie was hunched over on the other side of the elevator’s ceiling, cursing to himself for letting a jelly bean drop into the main compartment. He looked around the elevator chute, and noticed a vent, leading to what appeared to be a system of ventilation tunnels.

Roggie gently pushed the grate of the tunnel, and stealthily moved throughout the tunnels. The two cogs below him didn’t suspect a thing, until Roggie stupidly hit his head on the low ceiling of the vent.

The conversation below halted.  
“What was that?” The telemarketer muttered, looking around. The glad hander was now overcome with suspicion.

“Someone’s in here, friend,” He growled, staring about all over the room. “Someone- no doubt a toon- has gotten in here. We just gotta find ‘em now.”

Friend… so they do have friends. Roggie thought to himself, smiling a bit. But that smile faded away as he heard the glad hander speak into an intercom.

“WILL ALL COGS IN THE BUILDING PLEASE COME TO THE FIRST FLOOR.” Suddenly, Roggie could hear the elevator moving again. He took the noise as an opportunity to move throughout the ventilation system, and came across a duct looking directly into the first floor, where countless cogs had come to gather. Roggie didn’t realize it at first, but he soon judged that by the amount of cogs and the presence of some very distinguished, high-level cogs, he had no doubt entered a 5 story building. The idea terrified him.

“Everyone, there’s someone in here. We heard something banging about somewhere in the building, and we found a jelly bean inside the elevator with no one in it,” The telemarketer started his tangent. The cogs murmured quietly amongst each other, nodding. “We all best be on the lookout for whoever’s around.”

“The elevator’s missing a ceiling tile!” One Name Dropper piped up. The other cogs nodded and agreed. “Maybe the toon’s got into the ceiling.”

“Or maybe their in the floor,” A Two-Face mused.

“Wherever they are, we’ve gotta look out.” The glad hander said firmly. “If it’s a toon, they can’t stay here forever. But even then, they’re probably hiding right now. Waiting.”

“Suppose the toon stays overnight,” A different Two-Face piqued. “What do we do then?”

The cogs were silenced for a moment, then began to argue about who would stay overnight. Cogs of the same type, fighting with each other! What a sight for Roggie’s eyes. Suddenly, a voice spoke up.

“I’ll take care of it.” The Cogs turned to see a Mover-and-Shaker, tall and distinguished, with his curled mustache combed neatly against his face. He was the only Mover-and-Shaker in the entire building. The glad hander raised an eyebrow at him.

“You?” He questioned. “You want to stay overnight?”

“I’ll manage,” The mover-and-shaker said quietly, yet determined. “I’ve’nt got much to go home to, anyway. I’ll take care of the office.” No cog seemed to object.

  
“Alright then. You’ll stay overnight. Hopefully we’ll have caught the little toon by then.”


	3. You Intrigue Me...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roggie and John meet for the first time...

Hours had passed, and Roggie still lay curled in the ventilation system, too scared to move, too scared to come out of his little cave. The cogs were now swarming the building, their surveillance heightened; He could hear them prodding at the missing elevator tile, wondering to themselves. Yet Roggie stayed hidden.

 

Finally, he heard the noise in the building die down. He creeped back up to the duct, and watched as countless cogs began to leave for home (wherever home might be for a cog). The lone mover & shaker stood at the door, seeing all his colleagues out. It seemed that the evening was settling down, and the lone cog was to begin the night shift.

 

Finally, the last cog had left the building, and the mover & shaker remained. He stretched a bit, before walking around the first floor. Roggie watched him intently.

 

The cog strode about the building, his head held up high. Roggie could see now, naturally, why he was among the most feared Cogs by other toons, but not in the way you might think. He was tall, taller than Roggie; he was thin, and his jet black hair and mustache were neat and defined. He walked as though nothing bothered him, as though he were the king of the world. 

 

Though that mover & shaker was anything but that. 

 

He sat down on a chair and blankly stared at the floor. This wasn’t anything unlike what he experienced back at Sellbot HQ; the greyness was still there, as was the businesslike atmosphere. And so was the loneliness. This mover & shaker was probably the loneliest cog in the universe, though loneliness was nothing new for any cog. They worked together, of course, but they weren’t meant to feel empathy, or loneliness. They weren’t meant to seek comfort in each other. But comfort was desperately what this mover & shaker wanted.

 

And a name, too. All cogs were known by a code of numbers and letters, depending on their type. This mover & shaker in particular was known as S5-8-12. He was the 12th of all Level 8 mover & shakers. But he secretly wished, he wished that he could have a name like the toons did. Naturally, the usual names of toons disgusted him, due to their silly nature; he despised seeing their names, like “Glitter Twinklesocks,” or “Ziggy Stardust” or names like that. Though sometimes he saw Toons with simpler names. Real sounding names. This mover & shaker liked those names. 

 

And so, he sometimes secretly called himself “John.” It wasn’t anything special, nor was it known by the other cogs. But late at night, John thought to himself,  _ I’m not S5-8-12. I’m John. John, John, John. That’s me.  _ It instilled a sense of peace, within him. 

 

Now, John was on his feet again, and began to pace around again. Roggie still watched him intently. Then, John did something that Roggie had never, ever, not in his years of fighting, seen a cog do. Or rather,  _ heard _ a cog do.

 

John began to whistle. It was a quiet, soft little whistle. But it was whistling nonetheless. He was whistling some tune as he paced around, not exactly caring much for the missing toon. Roggie, unbeknownst to him, was smiling. He suppressed a giggle. John wasn’t a bad whistler at all. 

 

Somehow, hearing him whistle, Roggie took another look at the cog. He had a different perspective this time, and saw how well put together this cog was. How formal, yet jovial he seemed. How beautiful he was… Roggie leaned down onto the vent covering the duct, to get a better look at this cog.

 

Suddenly, the vent broke loose of its screws, and out tumbled Roggie! He yelped a bit, before he and the vent crashed onto the floor. The impact was hard enough to knock Roggie completely out, while the cog whipped around and looked down at the sight before him. 

 

John was silent for a moment.  _ So there WAS a toon in the building!  _ He thought to himself, smirking at the unconscious blue crocodile that lay before him. John had already pulled out his half-windsor, prepared to capture the toon.

 

But something stopped him. Something within him told John that he shouldn’t throw the tie. He huffed and put it back in his suit pocket, before approaching the crocodile. John had never been this close to a toon before, but he wasn’t afraid. In fact, he was more intrigued than he was afraid. He pulled the vent off the toon. 

 

John was kneeling now, studying the crocodile. He admired the croc’s features; Tall, pretty, with blue, shiny scales, and dressed in a simple striped shirt and tan shorts. John found him to be intriguing.

 

“You’re a pretty fellow, aren’t you?” John murmured, careful not to wake the poor thing. Unfortunately, the croc was just waking. John watched in amusement as he opened his eyes, looked around, and froze in fear. 

 

Roggie’s lip quivered. There, right in front of him, was the mover & shaker. A level 8 mover & shaker. He was frozen, paralyzed. He knew that one of these could take him out in a moment, and he had no way of protecting himself. But the smile on this cog wasn’t that of the usual mover & shakers. It wasn’t evil. It was… sincere?

 

John got even closer to the crocodile’s face, looking him down in the eyes.  _ How strange,  _ He thought,  _ This toon doesn’t attack me. He just lays there, in fear!  _ It was all quite amusing, really. 

 

“Why don’t you attack, boy?” John whispered. The crocodile just stared, as though not hearing him. “Why are you afraid?”

 

Roggie swallowed. He was scared, but he was also… intrigued? He didn’t know what it was. But something deep within him was attracted to the tall cog. 

 

“You intrigue me…” John murmured, smiling again and standing up. Roggie simply curled into a ball. He was in no position to fight this cog. He’d simply have to face his fate, of being tortured, and becoming dead with misery. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the cog to attack.

 

But suddenly, Roggie felt something grab him. He let out a yelp as he was lifted off the ground, and was now in the arms of the mover & shaker, who smiled down at him. The cog held Roggie in his arms as he walked outside of the building, and stepped into the night. Roggie was rigid with fear, though the cog was strangely warm…

 

“Run home, lad,” The cog murmured to him, setting him down on the street. Roggie simply looked at him in awe. “Should you find me again, you can call me John. Though the others will know me as S5-8-12.” Roggie stared into the eyes of the cog, who was beginning to stand up and head back into the building.

 

“Wait!” He called out. “I’m Roggie…” His voice trailed off as John walked back into the building, disappearing. Roggie sighed in defeat.  _ And he was so kind, too… _

  
But unbeknownst to him, John heard Roggie call out.  _ Roggie… _ He thought to himself, smiling and straightening his tie.  _ That’s a nice name. I’ll find him again. _


	4. Take The Long Way Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnnie and Roggie contemplate their strange interaction.

Roggie stumbled on homewards. He could’ve just pulled out a black hole and warped now, but it was the dead of night and he was still afraid. Besides, it was better to take the long way home and think about what everything that just happened. 

 

_ That’s got to have been the weirdest interaction I’ve ever had… _ Roggie thought to himself. He was walking towards the playground now.  _ Why’d that cog not battle me? Why’d he bring me outside? And most importantly… _ Roggie cringed a bit, thinking about it. 

 

_ Why’d he call me pretty? _

 

Lack of self-confidence was one way to put it. But Roggie simply didn’t know why that cog- or JOHN, rather- called him pretty. He didn’t quite know what to make of it, either. Part of him wanted to be disgusted. He was a COG, after all- Cogs and Toons could never get along. Or… could they? The other part of Roggie was… happy? He couldn’t place the feeling. All he knew was that something about John was different than any other cog he’d faced. And these feelings were unlike any other Roggie ever experienced. 

 

He was approaching the playground tunnel now. He quickly darted through it, to find it completely empty.  _ Of course, _ Roggie thought.  _ It’s midnight. Everyone’s at home sleeping.  _ He sighed, pulled out a black hole, and set for home.

 

\---------

 

John flopped back down onto his chair, sighing. Only now had he realized the consequences of his actions. If they found out that he let Roggie go, they’d deem him unsuitable for work and take him back to the HQ, where he would either have his hard-drive wiped clean, or he’d be destroyed completely. Both were terrifying options. And the fact that they kept security cameras in each building didn’t help at all. John rubbed his temples, staring at the floor.

 

Then again, the security cameras weren’t checked all that often. In fact, most times the footage collected from them was completely neglected, and thrown out by the end of the week. That could save John. He’d just tell the others that he didn’t see or hear any toon in the building, and that the toon must’ve escaped. That should cover for him. 

 

But there were other consequences, too… suppose he’d just blown his cover to a toon? The only opportunity for toons to learn a cog’s name was after that cog had exploded. Their serial codes were printed on the back of their necks, usually covered by their suits. But usually toons didn’t take the time to find the name of the cog they’d just defeated. Besides, each cog was unique: once a cog died, their code would never be used again. There really was no point in learning a cog’s name. But now that one toon knew the name of a live cog… that could lead to potential problems.

 

Finally, John turned his thoughts to Roggie. The blue crocodile, that pretty thing. Why John was so intrigued by him, he had no idea. But something about him seemed different. And John was dying to see the crocodile again.  _ Roggie… _ He thought. John cracked a smile to himself.

 

It was still the dead of night outside. John, seeing no reason to stay awake any longer, curled onto the chair and fell asleep. 

 

_ “You intrigue me…” John murmured, smiling again and standing up. _

 

_ He scooped up the crocodile and gently carried him outside, placing him down on the street. He watched the croc run home. But just as he was turning to head back inside the building, he heard a scream… _

 

_ John ran to find that a group of minglers had Roggie cornered, and hopelessly watched as they tortured the poor toon beyond his belief. Roggie fell limp on the street, and John ran to him… _

“NOOOO!”   
  
\------------

 

_ Roggie found himself curled on the street, one laff point away from dying. He shuddered, tears streaming down his face, as he prepared for the coming pain that would be the four sneering minglers, ready to torture him. _

 

_ But suddenly he heard shouting, and then he saw the face of John, that mover & shaker… _

 

_ “Oh Roggie…” He whispered, scooping up the trembling crocodile in his arms.  _

 

Roggie jolted out of his dream, sweat flooding down his face and body. He was relieved to find that he was just in his bed, and that the sunshine was streaming through the curtains. He arose quickly, and warped back to the playground.

 

He needed to find John again. 


	5. We Meet Again

“Comin’ through! Scuse me! Sorry!” Roggie was flying today. He zipped through the crowds of toons that were gathered in the playground, paying no mind to the dirty looks it earned him. He didn’t bother to stop at the headquarters. He simply made a dash for the street tunnel, with only one motive in his mind: to find John.

Roggie sprinted through, and found himself on the streets of the melodyland. Drat… where was it again? He wondered to himself, looking around. He kept walking, on and on, before he suddenly had a moment of deja vu. He remembered. This particular fire hydrant was the one he saw when he bumped into that name dropper. 

Roggie turned round, and there it was: the 5-story sellbot building. It had to be the one, the one he was pushed into. 

Though now, Roggie didn’t know what to do. Should he risk going in? Going into a 5-story building alone was essentially suicide, and there was a chance that John wasn’t even in there. Perhaps he was making his shifts around the streets, or perhaps- Roggie didn’t want to think about this- he had been mercilessly destroyed in battle before Roggie could make it. He hoped that wasn’t the case. 

“You going in?” Roggie jumped, hearing a voice behind him. He turned around and looked down, seeing a short deer peering up at him. The deer flashed him a grin, while Roggie stood silently for longer than he should’ve. 

“Um…” Roggie mumbled, unsure of what to say. The little deer looked up at him expectantly. “You know, I was, but… I-I just realized I don’t have gags!” Roggie lied quickly.

“Oh that’s alright! You can just go grab some and come back,” The deer chirped. “Here, let me see your schticker book.” She grabbed Roggie’s book, and wrote her name into it. Lia Padfoot, it read. Roggie nodded feverently, though evidently anxious. He really didn’t want to do this, but Lia would be waiting for him now, and it would be wrong to bail out on her. 

“Alright,” He said at last, pulling out a black hole. “I’ll be right ba-”

Suddenly, John walked out of the building. Roggie could tell it was him, because upon seeing the crocodile, the cog froze in his tracks, staring at the crocodile. John’s eyes darted from Roggie, to Lia, to the building, and back to Roggie, who was frozen, black hole hanging from his hand. Lia, noticing Roggie’s shock, looked behind her to see… a mover and shaker strolling robotically down the street. 

“Everything okay?” She tentatively asked the crocodile, who snapped his gaze back to Lia. She had a hint of concern in her eyes. Roggie stayed silent, before throwing down the black hole.

“Yeah, I’m alright. I’ll be right back.” Roggie finally jumped into the hole, warping back to the playground. 

\------------

Earlier that day, John awoke in the building to the light of dawn, streaming in through the windows of the building. Stretching and adjusting his tie, he sat and waited. Upon hearing the elevator begin to move again, John ran a hand through his hair and waited. 

The lie was effortless. That was a skill John had, to lie easily and without causing suspicion. For all he told was that, in his 8 or so hours of staying overnight, he’d not heard a sound; the toon probably escaped into the night, or maybe there wasn’t a toon at all, perhaps it was just another cog banging around. 

So naturally, John expected to see Roggie out in the streets again. Just not as quickly as it actually happened. 

He watched Roggie warp through the black hole out of the corner of his eye. That deer he was with was standing at the door, waiting for him. John could guess that much. But would Roggie be back? John didn’t really know what to do now.

After a mental debate, John decided his best course of action would be to slip back into the building and watch from the window. And if he saw Roggie coming, he’d slip right back out and wait for him.  
Through the window of the sellbot building, he watched as the deer opened her little book- for the life of him, John could never remember what they were called- and wrote something in it. Soon enough, two other toons appeared by her side, and they stood and waited. John knew they were waiting for Roggie. But suddenly, a third toon appeared. It wasn’t Roggie, but they had all gone into the elevator together. They really abandoned Roggie, huh? John thought to himself. Ah, no matter. It’s better this way anyway. Huffing to himself, John quietly slunk out of the building before the elevator doors closed. 

\------------

Lia didn’t necessarily abandon Roggie. In fact, Roggie was thrilled when, while in transit to the streets, she messaged him that a fourth had joined them and they’d all be going in without him. It’s alright, something came up for me anyway. Roggie messaged back. 

So Roggie sprinted back to the building. The doors were closed now, and knowing John was back out on the streets, it was only a matter of time. Looking around, he saw Name Droppers, Telemarketers, and the occasional Two-Face. But he didn’t see any mover and shakers. 

Roggie sighed, walking up and down the streets. There were other toons roaming about, though none were engaging in battle at the moment. This was good; this meant that no one had tried to pick a fight with John yet. At least, Roggie hoped so…

Suddenly, he saw John turn round the corner! As before, the cog froze upon seeing Roggie, standing there. Toon and Cog locked eyes, and stood paralyzed, not knowing exactly what to do.

Roggie’s eyes darted to a nearby alleyway, and after making sure no one was watching, he ducked into it. Moments later, John followed. 

“So we meet again.”


	6. Dreamer

Roggie was never one to show his emotions much. That’s what made him isolated in the first place, really. He never got overly excited, not emotionally sad.  And if he did, he wouldn’t express it too much. Like the time he had been mocked by some toon, yet again, for his height. He didn’t say anything, didn’t fight; he just glared at that toon. He had gone through this in his head before going out to meet John. He told himself that he wouldn’t immediately go weak in front of the cog. That could be dangerous, and Roggie didn’t fully trust this cog yet. He had no way of knowing if this cog would turn on him. So Roggie vowed to himself that he wouldn’t be too eager just yet. 

 

Though when he saw John, standing there, he couldn’t do anything about the giant, goofy grin that spread across his face.  _ Wow. There goes my plans, _ He thought to himself. But something about John’s grin made his worries wash away. There was a couple of moments of awkward silence, of cog and toon, staring at each other.

 

“I didn’t… I mean this is…” Roggie tried to say, but his voice wavered so much he could barely get anything out. John chuckled a little bit, leaning on the alley wall.

 

“It’s good to see you again, Roggie.” He spoke softly. Again, Roggie felt himself go weak. John was always so confident and put together, and he was just… not.

 

“Y-you remembered my name?” Roggie blurted out. John raised an eyebrow at him, chuckling some more, before Roggie embarrassedly went on. “I mean I remembered your name. Not your coggy name, but the one you told me. You know? Not the numbers and letters. The… The regular-sounding name. You’re John. Right? I just yelled my name out but I thought you were already in the building when I yelled it so I didn’t think you would remember my name. But you did! And- And I remembered your name! So… that’s good, right?” Roggie looked down at his feet, realizing he had rambled on for quite a while.  _ Oops.  _ “It’s good to see you again too, John.”

 

“I’d ask to walk with you down the streets, but given our circumstances…” John started, then trailing off. He glanced sourly at the streets. There were still cogs walking up and down, the occasional toon darting past. Roggie nodded.

 

“We could just sit here and talk?” Roggie suggested. John smiled, before sliding down the alley wall, landing with a  _ bump _ on the ground. Roggie did the same, though on the opposite side of the wall. 

 

\------------

 

“They said that to you? You’re joking.” John exclaimed, incredulous. Roggie had been telling him about how he was constantly teased because of how tall he was. 

 

“Yeah. It’s not like I don’t know that already, too. But people always bring it up,” Roggie muttered, his arms wrapped around his knees. John looked down at the alley floor, picking at a stone.

 

“I was under the impression that toons were always overly nice to each other,” John said, mostly to himself. He gazed curiously at Roggie, who shook his head.

 

“I guess I can see why you’d think that,” Roggie replied. “But that’s really only if you’re not a misfit. If you’re not weird… I don’t think people mean to be hurtful, but they just tease others without realizing it hurts sometimes.” There was a bit of silence that followed Roggie’s words. Neither cog nor toon knew what to say. 

“I don’t think you’re weird, Roggie,” John said at last. “You are taller than most toons I’ve seen before. But that doesn’t make you weird, not in the slightest.” John smiled softly at the crocodile, who looked sheepishly down to the ground. John decided to continue. “Other cogs think I’m a bit strange too, you know. I think it’s because…” John trailed off, thinking for a moment. Roggie watched him closely. “Well… I think I’m a bit of a dreamer. Maybe too much of a dreamer, for my own sake anyway.” He ended. Roggie, somehow touched, scooted ever-so-slightly closer to John. 

 

“There’s no sin in being a dreamer,” Roggie suggested. John looked down, but nodded a bit. “Why do they think that’s weird?” 

 

“It’s just not the way a cog should be, I guess,” John mumbled. “We’re told to stay in line, to keep our heads down, and we’re told that nothing can ever change. Especially this dynamic with toons.” John turned his gaze wistfully towards Roggie. “But… why does it have to be like this? Why are toons and cogs always at war? It’s bizarre, frankly. Why can’t we be like this, like you and me? We’re just talking to each other, there’s no hostility involved…” John trailed off. 

 

_ I could talk to you forever. I want to live in a world where you and I could be together. I want to be with you, Roggie. I don’t want to fight anymore. I want to spend time with you and not have to hide, Roggie. I want to live in a world where toons and cogs could live together in harmony, where toons and cogs could love one another... _ These thoughts flowed through John’s mind as he looked at the blue crocodile, who was gazing back at him. But he couldn’t say these things. Not yet.

 

“I just wish things could change, that’s all.” John finally declared. Roggie nodded understandingly. 

 

“Me too,” Roggie whispered. 

 

Neither cog nor toon knew how much time had passed, but eventually they could both see the sun was setting, and John’s pager went off, asking him to report back to sellbot HQ. 

 

“Tomorrow, same place and time?” John said to Roggie. Roggie nodded eagerly, as John stood up and prepared to eject his propellers. But before he did, he placed a hand on Roggie’s shoulder. “It was good talking to you, Roggie. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Roggie, for the first time, was looking up-- John was a few inches taller than he was. 

 

“Don’t get into any trouble,” Roggie murmured back to John, who chuckled. 

 

“I won’t, I promise,” John said softly, before his propellers whirred to life. As he began to lift into the sky, he yelled back down. “Goodbye!” Roggie grinned and waved back to his companion in the sky.

 

That night, Roggie skipped home. He was so happy, he could hardly stop smiling so much. When he came home, old Cagney was waiting for him, tail wagging. Roggie, still high from so much glee, played with his doodle for quite some time.

 

But then, before he went to bed, Roggie whispered into Cagney’s little ear. 

 

“I think I’ve got a crush, Cags. His name’s John, and he’s super nice. He’s good-looking too.” Cagney simply wagged his tail.


End file.
